Happy Birthday, Strawhat Pirates!
by pingo1387
Summary: A story which will have nine chapters, one for each birthday of the Strawhat pirates. More details inside. Happy birthday!
1. Robin

**And so begins the birthday story! I'll post a new chapter for each of the current 9 Strawhat pirates when their birthdays occur. More details after this chapter.**

**All of these take place when the crew has 9 members.**

* * *

"Say, Robin . . ."

"Mm?" Robin looked up from her book towards Nami.

"I was just thinking . . . I don't think you've ever told anyone when your birthday is."

She looked at Robin expectantly. Robin looked up in thought then shook her head.

"You're right; I don't think I have."

And she went back to her book.

Nami sighed. "Robin?"

"Yes?"

"When is your birthday?"

"You mean the date?"

"_Yes_, I mean the date."

"February 6th."

"Oh!" Nami looked up. "So that's . . . pretty soon, isn't it?"

"I suppose so," Robin murmured. "I hadn't really thought about it."

"Who doesn't think about their _birthday_?" Nami asked skeptically.

"I stopped celebrating mine about ten years ago," Robin replied. "It seemed pointless."

". . . oh," Nami said. "I see . . ."

She strolled off somewhere, leaving Robin to her book.

* * *

Robin had indeed stopped celebrating her birthday a while ago. Not only was it sometimes difficult to keep track of the date when on the run (she was often forced to search through garbage bins for newspapers), but she had no one to celebrate it with, and no one who would consider wishing her a happy birthday. She had merely kept track of the years, noting without pleasure whenever another birthday passed.

Despite the fact that she was now with Luffy and the others, she had no desire to start celebrating again. It just seemed like too much trouble to go through, for one silly day of the year that was almost exactly like all the others.

However, based on Nami's actions and questions, Robin suspected that the navigator was planning to throw a party for her anyway. And based on her attitude, Robin also suspected that it would be a surprise party.

Although she hated to ruin their efforts, Robin would not be playing along with their game.

* * *

When February 6th came around, Robin was ready. She had noticed the others meeting in secret yesterday, and highly suspected that they were preparing the surprise party, if that was indeed what was happening.

She quietly rose and headed for the door of her and Nami's room, noting that the navigator was already gone. She went to the kitchen, but before entering, checked inside by sprouting an eye in a corner.

Everyone was sitting around the table except Sanji, who was behind the counter, and Zoro, who was apparently still sleeping. Robin allowed the eye to vanish and entered.

"Good morning, Robin-_chwan_~!" Sanji exclaimed upon her arrival. "Did you sleep well, my dear?"

"Good morning, Sanji," she said, smiling. "Yes, I slept fine. Good morning, everyone."

The others said similar greetings without any mention of birthdays. Robin thought that the party, if it was indeed happening, must be set for later.

* * *

Later that day, Robin noticed that everyone seemed to have disappeared from the deck. No Luffy, Usopp, or Chopper playing games; no Franky practicing dance moves; no Nami reclining on the bow . . .

Slightly concerned, she headed up to her and Nami's room, though not before checking inside. After confirming that only Nami was inside, resting on her bed, she entered. Nami looked up.

"Hey, Robin," she said tiredly. "You need something?"

"Oh, well . . ." Robin said. "I noticed that no one was outside, and it seemed odd. I was wondering if you knew where they were."

"They must be around somewhere," Nami said indifferently. "I'm sure nothing terrible happened. Just search the ship or something . . . you want help?"

Robin shook her head. "That's okay; you look tired."

"Mm . . ." Nami rolled over on the bed. Robin quietly left.

Upon searching the ship, she found that Franky and Usopp were working on a cannon below deck; Luffy was pestering Sanji in the kitchen; Chopper was mixing something in his room; and Zoro and Brook were up in the crow's nest, meditating—no, Zoro was meditating while Brook danced around the room, singing something.

She sighed and headed for the library.

* * *

The end of the day came soon and not a single member of the crew had wished her a happy birthday. It was silly, Robin thought as she entered her and Nami's room, shutting the door behind her, to have thought that anything would have happened in the first place; Silly to think that her crew would attempt to throw her a surprise party. She didn't know why she had expected something in the first place.

After all, birthdays were such a trivial thing, she told herself as she changed into her nightclothes and went to bed.

* * *

Robin rose the next morning, February 7th, and saw that Nami was already gone. Figuring that she must be in the kitchen, Robin got up, got dressed, and left the room. She went to the kitchen and opened the door . . .

. . . Only to be met with a huge shout of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" ("Robin-_chwan_!") ("Robin-_san_!") from the entirety of the crew.

She stared in shock. The whole kitchen was decorated with paper streamers and balloons gotten from somewhere, there was a large purple cake in the middle of the table with 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY' written sloppily (probably by Luffy) in pink frosting. The Strawhats themselves surrounded the table, wearing conical party hats; Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper had noisemakers in their mouths, which they blew repeatedly.

"Robin, hi!" Luffy said around his noisemaker. "Happy birthday!"

"Nami told us today was your birthday," Usopp explained, also talking around his noisemaker, "so we set this up!"

"Robin-_chwan_, I don't know how you do it," Sanji said happily, "but you somehow look even more radiant today~!"

"Robin-_san_?" Brook asked. "Are you quite alright?"

Robin stared at them. "I . . . I . . ."

"Oh, don't be so shocked," Nami said happily, nudging her with a grin. "Don't tell me you didn't suspect!"

"Well . . ." Robin cleared her throat. "I hate to burst everyone's bubble . . . but my birthday was yesterday."

. . .

"Today's February 6th, isn't it?" Chopper asked.

Robin shook her head. "No . . . I'm afraid today's the 7th."

"Are you serious!?" Franky yelled.

Usopp ran off somewhere and came back with a calendar. "Dammit, she's right! Yesterday was the 6th!"

"Oh, come on!" Nami exclaimed. "That's so unfair!"

"You'd think _one_ of us would have noticed," Zoro muttered.

"I can't believe we messed up!" Chopper wailed.

"Robin-_chwan_, can you forgive my poor bumbling self?" Sanji cried pitifully.

Robin felt a smile spreading across her face. "I don't mind celebrating today, everyone. We can always pretend today is the 6th."

"Oh, good!" Luffy said, blowing his noisemaker. "Party time!"

"Are you certain, Robin-_san_?" Brook inquired.

She nodded. "I'm absolutely sure. Shall we begin the festivities?"

And so the party commenced. As Sanji guarded the cake from Luffy, Robin smiled and thought that, just maybe, birthdays didn't have to be so trivial after all.

* * *

**Happy birthday, Nico Robin!**

**So every time one of the Strawhats has a birthday, I'll post a new chapter. In other words, the next chapter will be on March 2nd, since that's Sanji's birthday.**

**No, I will not be doing chapters for characters outside of the Strawhat crew. While I would like to, that would be ****_way_**** too many characters, and some of them we don't know enough about to give a proper chapter to.**

**I'll try to make every chapter different - some will be surprise parties, some won't.**


	2. Sanji

**Took me freaking forever to get this one down. **

* * *

Sanji woke up to the sound of Brook loudly playing 'Happy Birthday' on the violin. When the skeleton saw that the cook was awake, he finished the song with a flourish and cried "Good morning, Sanji-_san_, and a very happy birthday to you!"

"Hey, thanks," Sanji said with a grin. He made to get up, but Brook rushed over and pushed him back in bed.

"Uh, can I get up?"

"So sorry," Brook said with a chuckle. "The others have asked that I make sure you stay in bed."

Sanji glared at him. "And why is that?"

Brook looked away. "Er . . . it was Nami-_san_ and Robin-_san_ who wanted this . . ."

Sanji immediately fell back into bed. "If this command was from my darlings," he declared, "then I shall stay in bed as long as they want!"

Brook chuckled. "Of course. And now, do you have any song requests, Sanji-_san_?"

"Hm . . . how about 'Great B—'"

"_Gather up all of the crew~, time to ship out Binks' Brew~. . ._"

Sanji sighed and rolled over.

* * *

"Oh, Sanji-_kun_!"

Sanji sat up eagerly. "Nami-_swan_~?"

Brook had been playing his violin for the past half-hour, occasionally interrupting 'Binks' Brew' with some variation of 'Happy Birthday'.

The rest of the crew came through the door; Nami and Robin were at the front, each supporting a large plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns.

"Happy birthday, Sanji-_kun_!" Nami said.

"Happy birthday, Sanji," Robin said.

The ones behind them echoed these sentiments. Sanji threw out his arms and exclaimed "Nami-_swan_~! Robin-_chwan_~! How lovely is it to receive birthday greetings from my angels~!"

"This is for you, Sanji," Robin said. Nami let go of the plate, allowing Robin to hold it, and turned around; Luffy got out a tray and tossed it to her; she caught it and stood it over Sanji's lap. Robin set down the plate on the tray.

"Breakfast in bed," Nami said cheerfully.

Sanji seemed moved. "N-Nami-_swan_ . . . Robin-_chwan_ . . . this is . . . this is the best possible gift I could have received!"

"We helped!" Usopp protested from the door.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks to you guys, too," Sanji said dismissively. He seized the fork handed to him by Nami and dug in. Tears poured down his face at the first taste.

"Oh . . ." he sobbed. "It tastes _heavenly_! Nami-_swan_, Robin-_chwan_, did you bring this down from the heaven of whence you came~?"

"Come to think of it, there _are_ spices from Skypiea in the hash browns," Robin said quietly.

"We helped too!" Luffy said.

"Can I go now?" Zoro grumbled. "I need to start working out."

"Don't care," Sanji said, taking another delicate bite of the food.

The men backed out of the room, some wishing Sanji a happy birthday again. Nami and Robin stayed on either side of his bed while he ate.

"Thank you so much," Sanji said when he had finished at last. "You girls are the best~!"

"Is there anything else we can do?" Nami asked, taking the plate and fork and setting them aside.

Sanji looked up in thought. A strange grin spread across his face and blood started leaking out of his nose.

Nami smacked him. "We're not going commando in front of you!"

Sanji rubbed his head. "Ah, your fist of love feels so good . . . well, I can't make you girls cook again—though it did taste wonderful! Hm . . ."

Robin came around to Nami's side of the bed and whispered something. Nami nodded and smiled.

"Here's the idea, Sanji-_kun_," Nami said, "Robin and I will wear whatever you want—"

Sanji's eye turned into a heart and he clasped his hands in front of his chest.

"—_as long as _we're wearing _something_, _and_ you have to pay us 1,000 beris each. Normally I'd charge much more, but you get a discount today."

"I'm sure I can think of something . . ." Sanji said.

* * *

When lunch came around, Sanji was just finishing the sandwiches when the crew started trickling in. Luffy was naturally the first, followed by Usopp and Zoro; the rest came in after them, Nami and Robin being the last.

Sanji looked up upon the girls' arrival and exclaimed delightedly "Nami-_swan_, Robin-_chwan_, you two look _amazing_~!"

The two each wore a sexy carnival outfit; Nami's was dyed bright red and orange, making it look like flames were leaping up behind her, and Robin's was in varying shades of purple, giving her an air of mystery.

"I'm never doing this again, you hear me?" Nami said angrily, sitting at her place.

"You two look simply _ravishing_!" Brook exclaimed. "Would you mind terribly if I snuck a peek at—"

Nami threw her knife at his skull; it got stuck in his afro and he screamed.

"Where did you even get those?" Zoro asked.

"Oh?" Robin said. "Just what are you planning, Zoro?"

Zoro turned red and scowled.

Usopp whistled. "Nice!" he took out a camera and poised it, ready to snap pictures. Nami stood up, came around to his place, and seized the arm holding the camera.

"10,000 beris per picture," she said sweetly.

Usopp meekly put the camera away.

* * *

**Happy birthday to Sanji!**

**Franky's is up next . . . exactly one week from today. Hooray. *blows noisemaker half-heartedly***

**If you want to get an idea of what Nami and Robin are wearing, do an image search for "Rio's Carnival".**


	3. Franky

**Yo~! Sorry this is a bit late - however, note that it is still technically March 9th.**

* * *

For most people in the world, today was just like any other day. But for Franky, it was special; today was his birthday.

In the years when the Franky Family was together, his crew had always managed to get a big surprise party together. For some reason, this happened every year; and every year, Franky had been surprised and pleased. Occasionally, Grandma Kokoro, Chimney, and Yokozuna the frog would be present as well, and sometimes Iceburg would make time out of his busy schedule to show up. Seeing his old friends again at his birthday party would often bring tears to Franky's eyes—even though he loudly denied crying at all.

That day, his first birthday aboard the Thousand Sunny, Franky got out of bed, eager to face the day and perhaps receive birthday wishes from his friends.

But when he entered the kitchen, he only heard normal greetings from the ones present. When the last few finally came in, none of them wished him a happy birthday, either.

_Maybe they forgot_, he thought to himself. _Oh, well_.

After breakfast—a delicious batch of pancakes, provided by Sanji of course—Usopp said "Hey, Franky, how about making some fireworks? Or do you got anything else planned?"

"Uh, sure," Franky said.

"Can I come?" Luffy asked eagerly.

"No," Usopp said, giving Luffy a strange look. "_You_ stay here."

"But I wanna do fireworks!"

Sanji and Zoro held Luffy down while Usopp and Franky went to the factory.

* * *

"Seriously, how many fireworks are we _making_?" Franky asked four hours later.

"Uh . . ." Usopp glanced at the clock on the wall. "Ten minutes," he muttered to himself quietly. "One or two more!"

Franky sighed. "Bro Usopp, I'm all for surplus, but we really don't need this many."

"Uh, well," Usopp said, thinking fast, "you know Luffy, he'll burn through these faster than we're making them—literally burn through them."

Franky shrugged. "Fine, whatever."

* * *

They were halfway through making the second firework when Usopp glanced at the clock and realized that it was noon. He grabbed Franky's arm—well, more like placed his hand upon it, since the arm was too big to really grab—and said "Hey, that's enough, don't you think?"

"That's what I said ten minutes ago!" Franky pointed out.

"Yeah, well, let's go back out, I bet Sanji's almost got lunch ready," Usopp said quickly. He ran out the door. Franky stared after him, shrugged, and followed.

When he opened the door, he was met with a shout of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" from the whole crew. A buffet table was set out in the middle of the deck, laden with all sorts of food—and plenty of cola. Luffy and Chopper were blowing noisemakers, and the rest were grinning happily—but of course, Brook was always grinning, and Zoro's mouth was only slightly less frown-y than usual.

"Bet you thought we forgot, huh?" Sanji said.

"Is something wrong, Franky?" Robin asked.

Franky had turned away and covered his face. The rest of the crew could clearly see tears dripping off of his face. "Shut up!" he yelled in a muffled voice. "I'm not crying, dammit!"

Usopp came up and whacked Franky on the shoulder. "Hey, c'mon, man! Let's have some lunch, yeah?"

Luffy stretched out his arms and grabbed Franky, turning him around. "Fraaaaanky, c'mon, it's your birthday! Let's party!"

Franky grinned, wiped his tears, and went to join his friends.

* * *

**Happy birthday to Franky / Cutty Flam! **

**I apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I was really running out of ideas, which is why I didn't post it earlier today. **

**Next up is Usopp-kun! I promise that his chapter will be longer.**


	4. Usopp

**I had so much fun writing this one. I actually ended up changing the idea at the last minute . . . thank goodness I did, this is way better than what I had originally planned.**

* * *

Usopp sat up in bed and noted that the others were already gone. He grinned, stretched, and jumped to the floor, humming to himself.

"Today's my birth-day," he sang quietly. "I bet the others are planning a surprise party! That's why they're gone."

Grinning again, he strode confidently out of the men's room. There was no one outside, so Usopp figured that they were in the kitchen. With a broad smile, he slammed open the door and yelled "Nice try, guys, but you can't surprise the great Captain U—"

He froze. Lying on the ground in front of him was Nami. She was covered in what appeared to be . . . blood.

"Oh god, Nami!" he screamed. He knelt down and turned her over. Her eyes were closed. "Nami, speak to me! What happened!? Are you okay!?"

Nami stirred and opened her eyes. "Usopp . . ." she whispered. "You're . . . alive . . ."

"Nami, what _happened_!?" Usopp yelled.

"Run . . . away . . ." she whispered. "They're . . . too strong . . . run . . ."

Her eyes closed and she did not move. Usopp, shaking, looked around the kitchen. Robin was lying some feet away, her eyes closed. She was also streaked with apparent blood.

"Robin!" Usopp cried, running over to her next. "Robin, what's going on!? Who did this!?"

Robin opened her eyes and looked at him. "Usopp?" She whispered. "How did you . . . survive . . ." she winced as if in pain. "You've . . . got to get away . . . before they . . . find you . . ."

And she too closed her eyes and did not move. Usopp backed up slowly and looked around again. This time he checked behind the counter and found Sanji. He was in the same state as Nami and Robin.

"Sanji!" Usopp screamed. "Oh god, not you too!"

Sanji stirred and slowly lifted his head, wincing as he did so. "U-Usopp . . ." he said softly. "Are . . . Nami-_swan_ . . . Robin-_chwan_ . . . are they . . . okay?"

Usopp hitched his breath. "Y-Yeah," he said shakily. "They got away."

"Oh . . ." Sanji sighed. "Good . . ."

His head dropped to the ground again and he did not move.

Usopp was very scared now. The enemy, whoever he or she or they were, had taken out not only the two smartest ones on the crew but also their third strongest fighter. Whoever the enemy was, they must have been very powerful.

Usopp reached into his bag and seized his slingshot as well as a few Lead Stars. He crept out of the kitchen and shut the door behind him, looking around cautiously. Finally he noticed Franky collapsed on the bow, one of his hand-gloves off, exposing his metal appendage.

"Franky!?" Usopp yelled, running over to him and kneeling down. Unlike the others, Franky did not stir or speak. Usopp got up and backed away shakily.

"So there _was_ one left," said a deep voice behind him.

Usopp screamed and whirled around, his slingshot at the ready. He found himself facing four figures, all wearing large black cloaks and hoods that covered their faces. One was tall and thin, one appeared to be very burly, and the other two were of normal height.

"W-Who are you!?" Usopp yelled. "Did you hurt the others!?"

"Hm . . ." said the tall and thin figure in a deep voice. "And what makes you think that it was us?"

"Oh, please," said one of the average-sized figures in a gruff voice. "Let's not beat around the bush. It _was_ us who took care of your crewmates."

Usopp's legs were quivering violently. "I-I'll fight you!" he cried. "Little do you know that I have over 8,000 men hiding aboard this ship, ready to come at a moment's notice!"

"Really!?" cried the burly figure in a high-pitched voice. He cleared his throat and then said in a deep voice "I mean . . . we're not falling for your lies!"

"That's right," said the other average-sized figure in a deep voice. "You don't stand a chance against us, Usopp."

"How do you know my name!?" Usopp yelled.

"He happens to possess psychic powers," said the tall and thin figure in that same deep voice. The four figures spread out and surrounded Usopp, who looked every which way, trying to watch everyone at once.

"Special Attack: L-Lead Star!" he cried, firing at the first average-sized figure, who dodged it easily.

The tall and thin figure began to slowly approach Usopp, who backed up. The two average-sized figures started closing in on either side of him and he looked front, left, and right, unsure of what to do.

In the next second, he didn't have to decide; there was a sharp pain on the back of his head and all went dark.

* * *

Usopp woke up blindfolded and tied to a chair. He squirmed and twisted his head, trying to get his bearings.

"Usopp," said the deep voice of the burly figure, "you are here for interrogation. Are you prepared?"

"N-No!" Usopp yelled. "What the hell is going on!?"

"Question one," said a gruff voice, which Usopp recognized as belonging to the first average-sized figure, "what is the date today?"

"W-What?" Usopp said, blinking behind his blindfold.

"ANSWER THE QUESTION!"

"I-It's April 1st!" Usopp squeaked. "S-Sir!"

"Very good," said the deep voice of the second average-sized figure. "Now . . ." judging by the sound of his voice and the footsteps, he was pacing around Usopp. "What _special event_ is happening today?"

"W-Well . . ." Usopp shivered nervously. "I-It's actually my birthday today . . ."

"Interesting," said the deep voice of the tall and thin figure. "But I believe that you forgot something. There is a _holiday_ celebrated today. Name that holiday and you will be released."

Usopp quivered nervously. "I—uh—it's April Fool's Day, isn't it?" he said.

"Absolutely right!" exclaimed someone, and Usopp's blindfold was whipped off. He squinted in the sudden brightness and realized that he was in the kitchen of the Thousand Sunny. Luffy, Chopper, Zoro, and Brook were standing around him, grinning, and—

"W-Wait," Usopp said, looking at Nami, Robin, Sanji, and Franky. "Y-You guys are okay!"

"Of course we are!" Sanji said. "What do you take us for?"

"Happy April Fool's Day, Usopp!" Chopper cried.

"And happy birthday, Usopp-_san_!" Brook exclaimed.

Usopp was very confused. "I-I don't get it," he stammered. "What even—"

"We set this up last night," Nami said cheerfully. "I liberated some of your Ketchup Stars for me, Robin, Sanji-_kun_, and Franky."

"B-But—" Usopp said. "The hooded figures—"

Luffy laughed. "That was us!" he said in the deep voice of the second average-sized figure. Returning to his normal voice, he said "You're not the only one who can lie, Usopp! Me, Zoro, Chopper, and Brook dressed up! It was really fun! You should have seen your face!"

"Sorry for knocking you out!" Chopper added.

"Sorry for scaring you, Bro Usopp," Franky said.

Usopp just stared at all of them. He finally smiled and began to cry.

"You okay there?" Zoro said.

"I . . ." Usopp said. "I'm so glad you guys are okay . . ."

Luffy reached behind Usopp and started to untie him. "Sorry! You wanna start the party now?"

"Yeah . . ." Usopp said, laughing. "Hey, Luffy, you're making the knots worse!"

"Oh, sorry."

"You did it again!"

* * *

**Happy birthday, Usopp!**

**Next up is Brook, which is on . . . Friday. Crap. *cracks knuckles and starts writing***


	5. Brook

**I am so so so so so so so sorry. In March, I skipped ahead on my calendar to write down that it was Brook's birthday on April _4th_. The whole time I was reminding myself "Friday, 4-3, April 3rd, Friday," even though it _clearly_ said April 4th where I had written down the birthday. I only realized this morning that Brook's birthday was _yesterday_. I feel terrible about posting a day late and I swear upon my honor that it will not happen again.**

* * *

When the Rumbar pirates were still in business, birthdays had always been raucous and cheerful. Loud celebrations and songs were part of the birthday package, and Laboon, when he was travelling with them, would chirp along to the songs.

But after that horrible last day of the happy pirate group, Brook's birthday celebrations decreased significantly in cheer. For one thing, it was difficult to have a party by oneself; for another, it was _very_ hard to keep track of the date while floating around in a foggy death-trap of a sea.

Only two times had Brook celebrated his birthday during those fifty years. The first time, a News Coo had dropped dead in midair—most likely because of old age—still carrying a bag of newspapers. Brook, after making a small grave for the bird in a corner of the ship, pulled out one of the newspapers and checked the date. He learned that it had been thirty years since he had died, and that it was also his birthday. He had celebrated by listening to the last song of his crew again and quietly singing the Happy Birthday song to himself, and later sitting vigil for his lost crewmates.

The second time, a group of pirates had come to be lost in the sea. They had boarded Brook's ship, thinking that it held abandoned treasure. When they found Brook, he had been resting against the railing, and so they had thought him dead. Naturally, they were quite shocked when Brook stood up and began talking. He had politely asked them what the date was, and one of the braver pirates had told him the year and day. Brook had thanked him and cheerfully informed the rest that it was his birthday. They had simply fled back to their ship, but the young brave pirate had wished him a happy birthday before fleeing with the others.

Now came the first time his birthday would be celebrated with his new friends. Brook, just the day before, had noted aloud that his birthday was coming soon. If none of his friends could make the time for a quiet celebration, he thought, then he would simply sit vigil for his former crewmates as he had so many times past.

"Brook!"

The skeleton turned to see Luffy waving, apparently just gotten up. "Happy birthday!"

Brook tipped his hat to Luffy. "Thank you, Luffy-_san_!"

He turned back to look out at the ocean, wistfully thinking of Laboon and Crocus. Hearing footsteps behind him, he turned to see Luffy running towards him and then seizing his arm. "What're you doing? We're gonna have a party!"

"A party?"

Luffy nodded. "Uh-huh! It's your birthday, so we party! And we get to have lots of food!"

"Ah," Brook said, chuckling. "My birthdays in recent years have been . . . rather quiet, to say the least."

Luffy frowned. "Huh? Quiet birthdays are boring. You gotta celebrate them with your friends!"

And he proceeded to pull Brook to the kitchen, where Sanji was cooking up a storm.

"Yo," he said, turning to see Brook and Luffy. "Happy birthday. Luffy, what are you doing? The food won't be ready for at least another ten minutes."

"But I wanna eat _now_," Luffy protested.

Sanji tossed him a piece of meat; Luffy jumped up and caught it in his mouth. "That's all you're getting," he said. "Now scat!"

Luffy sighed and shuffled out. Brook watched him go then turned to Sanji and said "Luffy-_san_ certainly seems to enjoy birthdays."

"He does," Sanji agreed. "And it's not just the extra food; I think he looks at it as a kind of milestone, or a marker of 'This is how long I've known you; this is how long we've been together'." He paused. "I guess that's how most people see it, though. I wouldn't know. For me, birthdays are just a nice excuse to take a break and have a party, maybe be a bit selfish."

Brook chuckled. "Indeed. I do love a good party." He stood and stretched—a completely unnecessary action, since he had no muscles to stretch. "I shall leave you now, Sanji-_san_; I do hope it turns out well!"

Sanji smirked. "What the hell do you take me for? It always turns out well."

Brook waved and left the kitchen. He strolled up to the bow and found Nami reading a book. He approached her, tipped his hat, and said "Good morning, Nami-_san_!"

"Morning," she said casually, glancing up with a smile. "Happy birthday, Brook!"

"Why, thank you," he said with a chuckle. "As a birthday gift, I don't suppose that you could show me your panties?"

Nami glared at him. Then, to his surprise, she tugged down the side of her skirt to reveal a flash of orange. Brook leaned in, but she hitched up her skirt quickly.

"That's all you get," she said. "I won't even charge you, so no complaining."

Brook surely would have been smiling if he could. "You're very generous, Nami-_san_! Thank you~!"

There was the sound of running footsteps and Sanji came pelting up the stairs. He stopped near Nami and Brook and narrowed his eyes.

"Is something the matter, Sanji-_san_?" Brook inquired.

"Hm . . ." Sanji muttered, glancing between them. "I could have sworn I sensed something here . . . but there's nothing, so . . ."

"Isn't the food going to burn?" Nami asked, looking at Sanji.

"Ah," Sanji said, and he ran back to the kitchen. A few minutes later, he shouted for everyone to come and get it.

There was a great rush towards the food area as usual. Sanji had made an extravagant breakfast, including Brook's favorite dish.

"This is delightful, Sanji-_san_!" Brook said, immediately starting to eat. Sanji grinned.

"Thanks," he said. And then "Wait, where's Robin-_chwan_?"

"Maybe she didn't hear you," Zoro muttered, devouring his food.

Just then Robin stepped into the kitchen. "Good morning, everyone," she greeted. "Brook, happy birthday."

"Thank you, Robin-_san_," Brook said cheerfully.

"Robin-_chwan_!" Sanji exclaimed delightedly. Robin inclined her head toward him.

"Where were you?" Usopp asked.

"Watching the ocean," Robin said. "Oh, by the way, there's a Marine ship approaching. I believe that they are close enough to start boarding and attacking."

Battle cries were then heard from outside.

"Can't you mention these things sooner!?" Franky demanded.

The crew stood. "Okay, we'll take care of them," Luffy said. "Then we'll have breakfast!"

Chopper, leaving the room, glanced over his shoulder and saw Brook still sitting at the table, staring down. "Brook?" he asked timidly. "Are you coming?"

"Chopper-_san_," Brook said, "you know that I am a gentleman, and a gentleman never gets angry."

Chopper nodded.

"However," Brook said, drawing his sword, "there are exceptions to every rule. One of these exceptions is _an interrupted birthday celebration_!"

He proceeded to run outside with a war cry.

The battle outside was clearly one-sided; it was obvious that none of the Marines stood a chance. The one that Brook was fighting found himself held at sword-point against the railing.

"Do you know what today is?" Brook asked softly.

"A . . . April . . . 3rd?" The scared Marine said, quaking with fear.

Brook nodded. "Very _good_! Today _also_ happens to be my birthday, the celebration of which you and your comrades rudely interrupted!"

"Oh . . ." the Marine said, trembling all over. "I . . . um . . . sorry?"

Brook cut him down and threw him back to the ship. The rest were finishing their quarry as well and the Marine ship was retreating.

"That was easy," Usopp commented.

"You were hiding back there," Zoro pointed out.

"Let's go have breakfast!" Luffy said impatiently.

Brook chuckled. It seemed that he would have a raucous celebration for the first time in years.

* * *

**Happy birthday, Brook!**

**Next up is Luffy, which is about a month away. This should be fun.**


End file.
